"Responsible, contributing citizens"

Yesterday the newsletter from our local government school district came in the mail (addressed to “Postal Patron,” so I suppose everyone gets one: your tax dollars at work), and the first thing I noticed before opening it was the mission statement:

The mission of __________ County Schools is to engage all students in meaningful learning experiences in order for them to become responsible, contributing citizens and life-long learners.

Sounds fine, but what do they mean by that?

The first article is about a certain brand of video camera and its use in the classroom. The article details kids using it to record their presentations in English and Spanish classes (biographies presented in character, and creating advertisements for English; a fashion show for Spanish) as well as an art teacher creating a movie of her students’ artwork which she’ll post on her website so the students can share it with their parents.

The article is summarized thusly: “The [brand name] video camera has proven to be an invaluable tool for education. Many of our students at [the middle school] say they will ask their parents to purchase one for them.”

Class, what have we learned today?

A Responsible Citizen is a consumer!